


How Far We've Come

by Lil_Red_Warlock



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author is Bitter, BAMF Women, Civil War Team Iron Man, Fix-It, Iron Man 1, Let's rewrite the MCU, Multi, No Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Not Canon Compliant, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Oc is protective of Tony, Tony Stark Defence Squad, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, not team Cap friendly, still deciding ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-02-28 13:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18757150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Red_Warlock/pseuds/Lil_Red_Warlock
Summary: Veronica "Ronnie" Parker is not paid enough.As Tony Stark's lab assistant and partner in crime, she was prepared for the unusual. But she was not expecting super soldiers, intergalactic beings and gods when she became a vigilante.She'll be damned if she lets a giant purple grape hurt her family though.Runs Iron Man 1 - ?





	1. 1.1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been working on Ronnie for a while. 
> 
> Basically this came about because I've been bitter since Age of Ultron and started a Tony Stark Defence Squad at my college. This is an oc fic where Tony hires Peter Parker's older sister as his lab assistant.

* * *

 

**March 7th 2009**

“You can’t just lock yourself in the lab and waste away Ronnie!”

Ronnie looked up at Pepper and Rhodey who stood together in the doorway. The bags under her usually bright eyes only showed a hint of Ronnie’s worries. Tony’s kidnapping had been hard on everyone, especially on Ronnie.

The young scientist had been working closely with the genius for almost a year now. Whilst Tony was developing different weapons, Ronnie could be found right next to him coming up with groundbreaking medical theories.

“What am I supposed to do Pep? Sit at home and cry whilst Stark Industries suffers from Tony’s absence. Stane is already on my ass about carrying the company. It’s like he forgot that I’m a doctor, not a weapons manufacturer.”

The curly haired teen waltzed around the lab with a grace they’d only seen when she was working or doing her gymnastics.

She froze when Rhodey placed his hand on her shoulder.

“We’re just saying that you need to take a break. You’ve been working nonstop since Tony…” He trailed off. “You need sleep and a decent meal instead of the doritos and redbull you’re surviving off. You’re gonna burn yourself out.” Rhodey left no room for any arguments.

Ronnie sighed heavily.

“Okay. Can I at least finish my research on deadly spider bites and their cures? I only have to add a paragraph of my observations on the Australian Red Back Spider.”

Pepper and Rhodey looked at one another before sharing a nod.

“Fine, but I expect you finished in the next hour. I’ll have Happy drive you back to Queens with explicit orders to tell your parents that you need a break.”

Before Ronnie could even reply, Pepper had her phone to her ear and was walking away. The teens jaw dropped as she stared after Pepper. Rhodey pushed her jaw up, closing her mouth whilst shaking his head.

“I’d get started if I were you. Who knows what Pepper will do if you’re not finished.”

He chuckled as the 17 year old immediately pulled up her notes and began typing at the speed of light. He quietly left as Ronnie had JARVIS pull up her diagrams she’d been working on.

Time passed slowly for Ronnie as she typed up her theory. As she checked her watch, she noticed that it had only been 20 minutes since Pepper and Rhodey had left. She was almost finished, just analysing the differences between the females and the males of the species.

“WHAT THE FU--”

Ronnie was cut off at the sight of a spider bite in the crook of her elbow. Pain throbbed at the area of the wound, but Ronnie ignored it in favour of looking for the spider that was responsible. After a minute, she gave up and grabbed a cold pack she left in the freezer for emergencies. Tony and herself were known for the numerous injuries that they seemed to have almost weekly.

“Miss Parker, are you okay? My sensors are picking up pain from your inner arm?”

“Yeah, just a spider bite J. Nothing to worry about. I’ll take some painkillers when I get home.”

Despite her arm pulsating, Ronnie finished off her theory before packing everything up. She yawned loudly and scratched the back of her head.

“Huh, must be more tired than I thought.” She muttered to herself. Ronnie her jacket off the back of her chair whilst removing the ice pack from her arm revealing a red patch with two puncture marks. She sighed before putting her jacket on, hissing as the coarse material brushed against the tender skin.

The curly haired brunette turned everything off, unaware of the dead spider on the floor by her chair.

An Australian Red Back.

* * *

 

 


	2. 1.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff with Peter and Ronnie. Some plot, some details.

**March 8th 2008**

 

* * *

 

Ronnie woke up noticing right away that something was off. It may have been the fact that she was still fully dressed with her glasses crushed against her face. Or it may have been the fact she didn’t remember much from last night.

The teen briefly remembered getting into the car with Happy, stopping at a small burger joint and then getting home.

She couldn’t recall the conversation she must of had with her parents or Happy leaving. She couldn’t even remember wishing Peter a good night like she usually did when she was home. It was all a blurred mess. Even the trip to her room was foggy.

However, the biggest give away was that she had a pit of anxiety in her stomach.

The brunette ran for the bathroom across the hall from her room. Looking in the mirror, Ronnie looked for any obvious signs that she was coming down with something.

Besides the sweat on her forehead, nothing looked wrong per se. Even the spider bite had practically vanished overnight. Her hair had grown. It’s usual messy pixie cut was now down past her shoulders. Which was definitely weird.

As Ronnie thought about how odd that was, her younger brother ran in and hugged her legs. It then became apparent that she’d had a growth spurt throughout the night. Her 5 foot 3 frame had become four inches taller.

How she’d explain this to her parents, she had no idea. If she was lucky Peter would be the only one too see her before she cut her hair again, or got Pepper to get her an appointment for it.

It took Ronnie seeing her brothers mouth moving but no sound coming out to realise that her hearing aids must have been left in her room. No matter what happens during the day, Ronnie never slept with them in. She’d made that mistake once and once was enough.

Lifting Peter up, she made her way back into her room. Peter noticed her hearing aids on her bedside table and worked out why his big sister hadn’t answered any of his questions.

She placed the small boy onto her, admittedly messy, bed and put her hearing aids on. Once she’d adjusted them, she turned to the small boy.

“So Pete, why are you up so early?” She asked the younger brunet as she sat next to him.

Immediately six year old climbed into her lap and tangled his fingers into her newly grown hair. His dark brown eyes stared into her own greyish orbs.

“I heard you get up, Mum and Dad already left for work. Could we go get breakfast?”

Ronnie chuckled lightly before freezing.

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at school young man?” She even checked the calendar on her wall to see that it was in fact a Tuesday.

Wide, glistening eyes stared at her as she looked at him. Ronnie’s own eyes narrowed as the younger Parker stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. The female could feel her resolve breaking as the boy wobbled his bottom lip.

“FINE! Looks like you’re not feeling to well today then.” Ronnie rolled her eyes as Peter gave a small victory dance from where he was perched on her lap. “Sometimes I regret showing you how to pull the puppy dog eyes.”

Peter giggled as Ronnie lifted him up and hugged him tightly.

“Now, how about I get ready and take you out for breakfast? Then we’ll go to the park and come back here to watch some movies, yeah?”

Apparently that was all Peter needed to hear for him to leap off of her and run to his own room.

 

* * *

  

After getting ready to be released into society once again, Ronnie immediately took Peter to a diner that sold the best pancakes in New York.

Despite not having the day off officially, she would bet her favourite combat boots that Pepper, Rhodey and Jarvis were all thankful for it.

However, the feeling of dread in her gut continued to grow. It was like a dark cloud following the siblings around. It never eased off, it only grew denser and darker, waiting for the right moment to let the downpour begin.

Ronnie refused to let that feeling leach itself onto Peter. His bubble of happiness was more important than some off feeling anyway.

The teen couldn’t help but giggle at her brothers attempt at the monkey bars whilst they were in the park. The brunet was short, shorter than most kids his age. It was no surprise that he called Ronnie over after falling again.

“Vee! Could you help me across the lava?”

“Sure, but Pete won’t I burn?” She asked faking fear at the imaginary lava.

Peter shook his head firmly, a pout on his young face.

“Uh-uh, not possible, you’re invincible! Nothing could hurt you!”

Almost on instinct, Ronnie rubbed the spot she was bitten last night.

 _A phantom pain_ , she deduced. _Just gotta look for the culprit when I go to the lab again_.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Pete, did mom and dad say when they’d be back?” Ronnie asked the boy curled into her side.

The tired boy rubbed his eyes before looking at his sister with confusion. His head tilted to the side which made Ronnie want to coo over how cute he was.

“No, I don’t think so.”

Ronnie looked down at her watch to see that it was already late. Their parents should’ve been home by now, or contacted Ronnie if it was one of _those_ situations.

“I’m gonna call Uncle Ben and Aunt May, okay? I’ve got work in the morning and I don’t know when mom or dad will be back. I don’t want to leave you alone since I have an early start.”

Peter grinned at the mention of their aunt and uncle. Peter adored Ben and May, since he spent more time with them.

More often than not Peter was split between Ronnie and Ben when it came to babysitting. Mary and Richard tended to be out a lot for work and Ben had also helped raised Ronnie when she was younger.

Seeing Peter falling asleep on top of her, the teen lifted the boy and carried him to his room. She helped him into his pajamas before tucking him in. Gently brushing a strand of hair out of his face, she pecked his forehead and left.

_“Ben Parker”_

“Hey Uncle Ben.” Ronnie smiled hearing her uncles voice through the small speakers.

_“Ronnie! I wasn’t expecting a call from you this late. What’s the problem?”_

“Ummm,” Ronnie started. “Mom and Dad aren’t back yet and I have work. I know it’s your day off but could you help me with Peter? He has school tomorrow and I have to leave really early”

Ben interrupted her rambling. He chuckled lightly.

_“Ronnie calm down, you know May and I love you both. Just let us pack a bag and we’ll be over. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with work at the moment. I’m glad you took a break today.”_

“Thank you so much uncle Ben! I made some spaghetti for dinner and there’s some leftover if you want me to warm it up for you guys. All homemade, I promise.”

* * *

 

“So, you’ve been stuck with Stane breathing down your neck since the announcement that Tony was missing?”

“Pretty much,” Ronnie mumbled around her mouthful of spaghetti. She quickly chewed and swallowed before continuing. “It’s like he doesn’t even care that Tony is in trouble, he just wants more weapons made. He doesn’t care that weaponry isn’t my area, he just wants the company to continue as if nothing's happened.”

Ben hummed as he rubbed his chin before taking a drink of the tea Ronnie has made for him and May.

“That man just sets my nerves on edge. He’s hiding something, something big.” May admitted. “Promise me you’ll be careful around him?”

The teenager of the trio snorted. She knew that Obadiah Stane was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She’d stumbled upon some of his misdeeds whilst checking some paperwork. Luckily the man had no idea, but he hated her for some reason nonetheless.

“Don’t worry May, Pepper and Rhodey have been finding a bodyguard for me since the news of Tony dropped.” Ronnie frowned. “I wish I knew he was okay, I miss him a lot. The lab feels too empty.”

Sensing the drop in the atmosphere, Ben changed the subject quickly.

“So you’ve eaten a lot since we got here. You feeling okay bumble?”

Ben had used her childhood nickname which meant he was extremely concerned. He’d called her that after her love for bumblebees, which in itself was an odd and long story. One Ronnie refused to tell Tony when he’d asked. More like annoyed her until she’d spill, which still hadn’t worked.

“Just a growth spurt I think. I’ve grown 4 inches so I’m assuming the increased appetite is my body to regain its energy. However, I barely remember last night. It’s like after I stopped working I switched off.” Ronnie admitted whilst waving her hands around in excessive gestures.

Both Ben and May shared a glance as Ronnie shovelled another forkful of spaghetti into her mouth.

“Did something recently happen in the lab? Because you don’t just gain 4 inches in a singular night, Ron.”

Ronnie sighed heavily, placing her cutlery onto her now empty plate. Wiping a hand across her mouth, she relaxed into her seat at the table.

“I got bit by a bug or something at work. I was gonna see if I could find the culprit tomorrow at work but I think it’s just a mosquito or something. Plus I have been overworking myself and stressing a lot. I doubt something bizarre has caused this to happen.”

 

* * *

 


End file.
